Latest posts in category Uncategorized on North Carolina Criminal Law Blog

In response to the stabbing of Iryna Zarutska in Charlotte on August 22, North Carolina legislators are proposing various criminal justice reforms. Brittany noted last week that Republican legislators are advocating for various changes such as restarting the death penalty, ending cashless bail for those with felony convictions, and mandating that judicial officials consider homelessness and mental health when determining conditions of pretrial release.

This week, Democratic representative Laura Budd responded with a different slate of reforms, calling for funding for 5,000 additional local police officers statewide, along with 5,000 crisis assistance co-responders. She is also proposing that judicial officials initiate mental health commitments where appropriate and that people found incompetent to proceed be tried in state hospitals.

Yesterday, Chief Justice Paul Newby of the North Carolina Supreme Court issued an order creating a new Pretrial Release Task Force to survey pretrial release practices statewide and make recommendations as to best practices and potential legislative changes.

Read on for more criminal justice news.

One of the top stories this week is that of Decarlos Brown, who was charged in the fatal stabbing of a woman on a train in Charlotte. The crime occurred on August 22, but the Charlotte Area Transit System recently released surveillance footage to local media outlets, causing the case to garner national attention. Brown has been charged federally with committing an act causing death on a mass transportation system, which could result in the death penalty if convicted. Brown has also been charged in North Carolina with first-degree murder.

Republican leaders of the North Carolina General Assembly have since announced their plans to introduce wide-ranging legislation when they reconvene later this month. The legislators are aiming to advance a package of proposed laws in part designed to tighten pretrial release rules, create more oversight of and less discretion for magistrates, and restart the use of the death penalty in the state. Any criminal legislation that is enacted will be covered on this blog and included in our annual legislative summaries.

Jasveen Sangha, dubbed the “Ketamine Queen,” pled guilty on Wednesday to selling Matthew Perry the drugs that resulted in his death, as reported by the AP and ABC news. Perry was found dead at his home in Los Angeles, California, on October 28, 2023. Prosecutors said that Perry bought ketamine from Sangha four days before his death. Sangha pled guilty to five federal charges, including one count of distribution of ketamine resulting in death or serious bodily injury. She is scheduled to be sentenced on December 10. Read on for more criminal law news.

For the third week, federal forces continue to perform law enforcement duties in the District of Columbia pursuant to President Trump’s efforts to combat an alleged epidemic of crime there. This is despite the Department of Justice’s data indicating that violent crime in the district is at a 30-year low. The U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia has instructed federal prosecutors to seek the highest possible charges against arrestees and to attempt to hold arrestees in pretrial detention. Some law enforcement encounters have raised questions about their legality, with a local U.S. Magistrate Judge recently describing one case as involving “the most illegal search I’ve ever seen in my life,” according to this report. Separately, the executive branch has announced plans to similarly deploy federal law enforcement in other cities like Chicago and New York, according to this story. Read on for more criminal law news.

A new school year is upon us and students across North Carolina are back in classrooms and on athletic fields. The question of who is eligible to participate in interscholastic athletics in North Carolina’s public schools is answered by the student participation rules established by the North Carolina State Board of Education. Those rules include a ban on participation following a felony conviction. This post explains the rule, explores how it applies to various legal outcomes, and offers considerations for practitioners involved in cases in which a minor is being prosecuted in criminal court for a felony charge.

Erik Menendez was denied parole by a panel of California commissioners yesterday. He and his brother Lyle were sentenced to life in prison in 1996 for fatally shooting their parents in the family’s Beverly Hills mansion in 1989.

During his 10-hour hearing, he offered a detailed account of how he was raised and why he made the choices he did, both at the time of his parents’ killing and during his decades in prison. A panel of two parole commissioners said Menendez was unsuitable for release. They said his actions in prison—including affiliating with a prison gang and having a cellphone in violation of the rules—showed he was a risk to public safety.

Menendez can come before the parole board again in three years if the decision is not overturned. Lyle Menendez’s case is set to be heard by the parole board today.

I am excited to share this year’s annual report from the North Carolina Judicial College. Taking stock of a year’s work can be a meaningful exercise, and I’m proud of what we — and the judicial officials we serve — accomplished. Last year, we offered nearly 50 continuing education courses that provided more than 700 hours of continuing education credit. Those courses included Advanced Criminal Procedure for Superior Court Judges, Conducting Hearings and Entering Judgment for Magistrates, Drafting Orders for Clerks, and the Indian Child Welfare Act Seminar, all of which are featured in the report along with reviews from participants. We also participated in the awarding of certifications to several officials. Seven district court judges were among the first group to ever receive the Advanced Juvenile Justice Certification and eleven magistrates were certified, nine in civil law and two in criminal law. The report lists those officials by name and district; if you know them, please extend your congratulations.

President Trump deployed the D.C. National Guard, took control of the Metropolitan Police Department, and reassigned FBI agents from their regular duties to patrol the streets of Washington, D.C. this week. At a press conference on Monday, Trump identified rising crime rates and the threat of violent crime as the primary reasons for his attention to law enforcement in the District. In response, the New York Times and CNN have published reports showing crime rates have steadily dropped since the pandemic, and are dropping as part of a larger trend since the 1990’s. Also this week, a federal judge in California is considering whether President Trump violated the law when he deployed the National Guard in Los Angeles. Read on for more criminal law news.

The town of Wendell, NC, recently purchased two drones and associated equipment for $20,000 to support the police department. Officials state the drones will help locate missing or endangered people, find criminal suspects, investigate traffic crashes, and support special operations. A sergeant noted the drones could be particularly helpful in locating children or adults with cognitive issues who go missing. The drones have heat-detecting cameras, live tracking, high-powered zoom, and distance-measuring tools. Proponents are optimistic that the technology will help officers by providing a perspective on chaotic scenes before officers go in blind. However, civil liberties groups have concerns that the technology may lead to intrusions on privacy. Law enforcement drone programs are proliferating throughout North Carolina in places such as Asheville, Burlington, Chapel Hill, Charlotte, and Winston-Salem.

Read on for more criminal law news.

The North Carolina Judicial College was founded in 2005 to expand the education and training the School of Government has provided to judicial branch officials since its founding in 1931. And expand we have! Last year we offered nearly 50 continuing education courses that provided more than 700 hours of continuing education credit. Those courses include orientation programs, classes focused on discrete topics of interest, experiential learning opportunities, skills-based training, and leadership seminars. They are offered to an array of judicial officials, including trial and appellate court judges, magistrates, and clerks of court.